lawrence



(No Model.) L. P. LAWRENCE.

VALVE. No. 391,716. Patented Oct. 23, 1888.

lllnrrnn dramas PATENT (Clarion.

LOUIS P. LANRENOE, OF PASSAIO, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAW- RENGE RAILWAY BRAKE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391.716, dated October 23 1888.

Application filed December 16, 1887. Serial No. 258,090. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS P. LAWRENCE, of Passaic, in the county of Passaic, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain newand useful improvements in valves used for steam, air, and water pipes; and the object of my into vention is to provide a new and improved valve which can be opened and closed easily and rapidly and locked in position when opened or closed, and which is at all times tight without requiring any packing or stuffing-box.

The invention consists of the combination of a casing having a tapering cylindrical bore, of a correspondingly-shaped plug fitted in said bore, a key in a slot of the plug and adapted to impinge on the edges of the groove in the casing, and a screw for adjusting said key.

The invention also consists in the construction and combination of parts and details, as will be fully described and set forth herein- 2 after, and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of my improved valve. Fig. 2 is a horizonal sectional View of the same on the line at a,Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The valve-casing A is provided with a tapered cylindrical bore, A, for receiving the correspondingly-shaped plug B,having a ver- 3 5 tical slot, B, for the passage of the steam, air,

or liquid. Said plug is ground and finished,

as is also the bore in which it fits, so as to make the valve tight and prevent any leakage.

The casing is provided on its top with an up- 0 weirdly-projecting neck, 0, having an annular internal groove,D,in the side of which a quadrant recess, E, is formed. The neck 0 is also provided with an aperture, F.

The plug Bis provided above the slot B and 5 parallel with the same with the slot G, into which the key His inserted,the height of said key-being about oue-half the height of the slot G and the length of said key being slightly greater than the diameter of the plug at the 0 said slot G,so that the ends of the key project beyond the circumferential surface of the plug and can rest against the top of the groove D formed in the neck 0. The said key is provided at its inner end with a lug, J, which is adapted to travel in the quadrant recess E, 5 and projects such a distance that it can strike against the ends of said quadrant recess. A screw, K, is passed loosely through a vertical aperture or bore in the handle L of the plug, said handle being attached to, or, prefo erably, cast integral with the plug. The lower end of the screw K is screwed into a screwthreaded aperture in the key H, and on the upper end of said screw a thumlrpiece, M, is provided. A spring,N,is interposed between 6 the bottom of the plug and the bottom of the bore to assist in balancing the plug.

The casing A is provided at the ends with screw-necks, the axis of which may be in line or at right angles, according as the valve is to be provided in a straight line of pipes or at an angle.

The operation is as follows: As shown in Fig. 1, the key K is not in contact with the top of the groove D and the plug is free to turn in its casing. The valve can be closed very easily and rapidly by turning the plug ninety degrees, or a quarter-turn, on its vertical axis. The lug Jstrikes against the ends of the recess E, and thus limits the rotative movement of 8c the plug in one direction or the other. After the plug has been turned and brought into the desired position and it is to be locked in place, the screw K is turned so as to move the key H upward against the top of the slot G. If 8 the screw is turned still farther, it is evident that the same must move downward, as the key H cannot move upward any farther. If the screw K moves downward, the plug B is also pressed downward and against the sides of the bore in the casing, as the bottom of the thumb-piece M exerts a downward pressure on the top edge of the handle-piece L. The plug can thus be locked firmly in position,whether opened or closed. When it is desired to loosen 9 5 the plug, the screw K is .turned in the reverse direction, permitting the plug to move upward under the action of the spring N, or the steam or air that may collect under the plug, and by further turning the same the key is IOO lowered and the plug released.

. My valve requires no packing, nor nuts and screws at the bottom; it is very simple in construction, and can be taken apart very easily for readjustment in case the parts become Worn.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a valve, the combination, with a casing, of a plug mounted to turn in the same, said plug being provided in its top with a transverse slot, a transverse key mounted loosely in said slot, its ends bearing against the casing,and a screw passed through the top of the plug and screwed through a threaded aperture in the key, the lower end of the key resting on the bottom of the slot in the plug, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a valve, the combination of a casing provided with a neck having an internal annular groove, a plug in the casing, a key in a transverse slot of the plug, the ends of the key projecting into the groove in the neck,and a screw passed through the top of the plug and screwed through a threaded aperture in said transverse key, substantially as set forth.

3. In a valve, the combination, with a casing provided with an internally-grooved neck and an aperture leading to the groove, of a plug provided with two slots, a key injthe upper slot, the ends of which key project into the groove of the neck, and a screw in the top of the plug for adjusting said key,substantially as shown and described.

4. In a valve, the combination, with a casing, of a neck provided with an internal annular groove and a quadrant recess in said neck, a plug in the casing, a key in the slot of the plug, the ends of said key passing into the annular groove of the neck, a lug on one end of the key projecting into the quadrant recess, and a screw in the top of the plug for adjusting the key, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a valve, the combination of a casing having a neck provided with an internal groove, a plug in said casing, a key in a slot of the plug, a handle-piece on the plug, an aperture in said handle, a screw passed freely through said handle and screwed into thekey, and a thumb piece on said screw,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that[ claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS P. LAWRENCE. 

